specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Pixie
providerId: pixie
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Observability
  - Kubernetes
  - Open Source
description: FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Pixie - Pixie is open source under Apache 2.0; there are no
  vendor invoices for the project itself. The cost surface is the user's own Kubernetes cluster
  resources (CPU, memory, storage) consumed by the Pixie Cloud control plane and Vizier data
  plane. Commercial managed offerings that bundle Pixie (e.g. New Relic) are billed by those
  vendors and outside the scope of this artifact.
sources:
  - https://docs.px.dev/about-pixie/faq/
  - https://github.com/pixie-io/pixie/blob/main/LICENSE
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Pixie Authors (CNCF Sandbox project, originally contributed by New Relic, Inc.)
serviceCategory: Observability
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Open Source
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: N/A
  chargeCategories: []
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Pixie
  ServiceCategory: Observability
  ServiceSubcategory: Kubernetes Observability
  ProviderName: Pixie (CNCF)
  PublisherName: Pixie Authors / CNCF
  BillingCurrency: N/A
  ChargeCategory: N/A
  PricingCategory: Open Source
meters:
  - name: cluster_cpu_pixie
    description: CPU consumed by Pixie Vizier agents (PEMs / Cloud Connector / Kelvin) on the
      monitored cluster. Cost shows up in your cloud provider bill, not from Pixie.
    unit: vCPU-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - cluster
      - component
      - node
  - name: cluster_memory_pixie
    description: Memory consumed by Pixie components on the cluster.
    unit: GB-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - cluster
      - component
  - name: pixie_cloud_compute
    description: CPU / memory consumed by the self-hosted Pixie Cloud control plane (only if
      self-hosting; otherwise the community-hosted instance bears this).
    unit: vCPU-hour
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - service
  - name: api_calls
    description: Pixie API / PxL script invocations. Not billed by Pixie; useful for capacity
      planning of the Cloud control plane.
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api
      - script
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Pixie itself is free; cost visibility comes from your Kubernetes cost-allocation
      tooling (OpenCost, Kubecost, cloud-provider bill) measuring the CPU / memory / storage
      footprint of the Pixie components.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Tag the Pixie namespace and components with cost-allocation labels (team,
      environment) so the cluster cost system attributes Pixie's footprint to the observability
      function.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Tune PEM agent CPU / memory limits to fit your cluster's traffic profile; reduce
      data-table retention windows to lower memory; self-host Pixie Cloud only when the community-
      hosted offering becomes a bottleneck.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Platform / observability team owns Pixie's footprint as part of the cluster's
      observability budget; review CPU / memory of the px-operator namespace each quarter.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com